815 North Broadway
Saratoga Springs,
New York, 12866
SKIDMORE PHONE
518-580-5000
(Reprinted from the Glens Falls Post-Star, Oct. 18, 2004)
College Expects Smooth Election Skidmore hopes to avoid last year's chaos
By Kate Perry
SARATOGA SPRINGS—Few have forgotten the chaos at the Skidmore
College polling place that occurred last year, but officials are
promising that Nov. 2 won't be a repeat.
On Election Day last year, city Democrats asserted that a GOP poll
watcher intimidated student voters as they entered the polling place,
questioning them about their residency. Democrats cried foul, citing a
low voter turnout as proof that the intimidation worked. The district 24
polling place is a gold mine of votes for Democratic candidates in an
otherwise strongly Republican city.
A source of controversy for some time, the Saratoga Springs City Council
discussed eliminating the polling place and moving it downtown as part
of a redistricting plan in 2002. In early 2004, Saratoga Springs
Accounts Commissioner Stephen Towne proposed moving the polling place to
a different location on campus to avoid another situation similar to
Election Day 2003.
The polling place was located in the Case Center on campus, which also
houses student mailboxes, a bookstore, and an eatery. Students and
faculty stream through the center all day, and there is heavy loitering
by the polling place in a room called the Intercultural Center.
The plan to move the polling place was dropped after Towne met with
college President Philip Glotzbach. Pat Oles, the college's
dean of student affairs, said it has been clarified that students
in Moore Hall need to vote at a
different polling place, which should preclude many of last year's
questions.
The plan to move the polling place was dropped after Towne met with
college President Philip Glotzbach. Instead, the college has worked
with Towne's office and the county board of elections to ensure that all
voting regulations are respected, according to Pat Oles, the college's
dean of student affairs. Oles said it has been clarified that students
living in Moore Hall, an off-campus facility, need to vote at a
different polling place, which should preclude many of last year's
questions.
"It's going to be a smooth and flawless operation, without problems," he
said.
Bill Fruci, the Democratic elections commissioner for Saratoga County,
said the room will be set up with a specified location where poll
watchers are allowed to stand. Republican Elections Commissioner for
Saratoga County Diane Wade could not be reached for comment Friday.
Jasper Nolan, chairman of the county's Republican Committee, said Friday
that the polling place was "a beehive of activity" last year and that
things did get a little out of hand, but he stressed that poll watchers
were simply trying to make sure that voters were who they said they
were.
Like Fruci and Oles, he is sure things will go more smoothly this year
with the new arrangements in place. His committee members, however, will
still be on hand to make sure that all voters are participating in the
right place.
Nationally, students had trouble registering in their college
communities this year, according to the Associated Press. Some have even
been denied the right to register.
In Saratoga Springs, however, that isn't the issue. Nolan said he has no
objections to the large body of Democratic supporters voting, as long as
they vote at the right polling place.
"We want to make sure that everybody is following the letter of the law
and voting in the district that they live in," he said.
“We want to make sure that everybody is following the letter of the law
and voting in the district that they live in”
—Jasper Nolan,
Saratoga County Republican Committee chairman
Students on the campus say they are undeterred by last year's events and
are prepared to venture to the Interfaith Center to cast their vote.
On Sunday, junior Alison Rosenblatt of Connecticut said she voted in her
home state by absentee ballot last year, but re-registered to vote in
Saratoga Springs so she can voice her opinion on local issues now and in
the future. That's important in a place where she lives the majority of
her year, she said.
"I'm here for so long, and I might stay here after college," she
said.
Jonathan Greene of Seattle said he is voting by absentee ballot this
year, but only because Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry
needs more votes in Washington than he needs in New York. The sophomore
said he and his classmates are so energized by the issues of this year's
presidential campaign, that he doesn't think anyone will stay away from
Skidmore's polling place because of last year's incident.
"There were a lot of people who freaked out about it last year when it
happened, but students are optimistic about voting this year," he said.
"They know it's their right."
Shawn Thompson, Saratoga Springs Democratic Committee chairman, said he
is sure that students will cast their ballots in a friendlier
environment, but he isn't sure that can be entirely credited to the new
setup of the polling place. Last year, residents were voting on a hot
mayoral race where every vote counted, but this year the main draw to
the polls is the presidential race. Thompson said if the stakes were
higher locally there might be more Republican pressure at the polls,
especially at Skidmore, where 900 people registered last year and only
43 were Republican.
"The story would absolutely be different if this were a local year," he
said.
Nolan brushed the allegation off, saying this year will be different
because of the arrangements made at the polling place and has nothing to
do with whether the big race is local or national.
